1999 Subaru Forester. All Wheel Drive. Ready For The Snow. on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2015 Subaru Legacy spills out ahead of Chicago

Subaru has been one of the industry's hottest automakers, recording record sales month after month. Those handsome figures have come largely on the backs of its crossover lineup, however - models like Forester, Outback and XV Crosstrek have been carrying all the water. The Japanese marque has seen less noteworthy performance out of its midsize sedan, the Legacy, but a new one is slated to be revealed later this week at the Chicago Auto Show, and it hopes to improve the company's family sedan fortunes.
Leaked here in these first photos, the 2015 Legacy picks up some cues from the brash Legacy Concept revealed at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show, but it loses some impact and gains a pair of rear doors versus the showcar. There's little new visual ground broken, but the overall look is more harmonious than its balloon-fendered predecessor. As is often the case, it has features that make us think of other cars, but overall, it looks to be a handsome (if conservative) design. We particularly like the sleeker roofline and the bold front grille treatment - the latter will likely serve well as the face of the next Outback.
Subaru has traditionally offered function-over-form interiors, and while the new dashboard remains visually staid, it looks to have picked up a number of nice new features, including improved HVAC controls, a new steering wheel and freshened touchscreen navigation system.

Nissan exec Andy Palmer derides Toyobaru coupes as 'midlife crisis' cars

Andy Palmer, Nissan's executive vice president, does not like the Scion FR-S or Subaru BRZ. To us, that's like saying you enjoy barbecuing puppies, but we'll let him slide, because his statements about the Toyobaru twins are much, much more than just idle trash talk.
Speaking to Motor Trend's Nate Martinez, Palmer said, "Do we have any competitors [in the small, rear-drive coupe segment]? Are you talking about the Subaru [BRZ]? It was a car designed for a 50-year-old. It's for a midlife crisis. That's not what we do." Strong words, but what followed was even better.
"Are you coming to the Tokyo Motor Show? You'll see the answer to the midlife crisis. Except it won't be for the midlife crisis." So, if you were wondering whether Nissan is working on a competitor to the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ, the answer seems to be a resounding "yes."

Porsche 911 Turbo and Nissan GT-R Nismo star in World's Greatest Drag Race 4

We love Motor Trend's annual World's Greatest Drag Race video. Now back for its fourth appearance, the idea of lining some of the world's fastest cars up for a ten-wide, straight-line, full-throttle run is, well... it's pretty freaking badass.
The lineup this year boasts some impressively fast cars to be sure. The group of ten includes the following darlings: Alfa Romeo 4C, BMW i8, BMW M4, Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Ford Fiesta ST, Jaguar F-Type R Coupe, Nissan GT-R Nismo, Porsche 911 Turbo S, Subaru WRX STI and, last but not least, the Volkswagen GTI. Give us any one of those for the weekend, and we're happy to take the keys.
It must be said though, that for a publication that draws as much water as Motor Trend does, there are some big cars that we might expect to be here instead. The Lamborghini Huracán or Ferrari 458 Speciale would have added some exotic flare to the list, and the omissions of the Chevy Corvette Stingray (for the second year in a row) and the Dodge Challenger Hellcat are real head-scratchers.